Shoe-polishing brush.



J. C. SANBORN. SHOE POLISHING BRUSH. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31, 191s.

1,1 18,153. Patented Now/124, 1914.

ATTORNEY.

@NYE-EB STATES PATENT @FFQE JOSPH C. SANBORN, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE W. SNBORN, OF UTICA, NEW YORK.

SHOE-POLISHING BRUSH.

Specification or' Letters Patent.

Patented Nov., 2d, limiet.

.Application led January 31, 1913. Serial No. 745,353.

'To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH C. SANBORN, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State Aof New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Folishing Brushes, of which thefollovving, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

rlhis invention relates to certain improvements in polishing brushes for shoes, boots and other articles requiring a high degree of finish or polish without liability of marring or scratching the polished surface.

T he main object lis to render the cleaning and polishing of shoes Land vsimilar articles more efficient, expeditious and sanitary placing the power-driven brush under the voluntary control of the operator so that it may be easily and freely manipulated at any angle and in any direction to conform to the contour of the shoe or other article operated upon.

A further object is to provide the brush with radial iieXible' polishing webs or wings elongated axially and spaced equi-distant but some distance apart circumferentially so as toobtain a Wide range of infinitesimally graded wiping pressures from minimum to maximum as controlled by the operator, and at the same time to cause the active Webs to bend one toward the other to form intervening air cushions which affords a gradually increasing but yielding resistance to the bending of the Webs and yet enables such Webs to conform closely to the varying contours of different portions of the shoe.

Another object is to enable the brush- Webs to be easily and quickly removed and replaced by new ones when soiled or otherwise impaired.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the, following description.

In the drawings- Figures 1 and 2 are rev spectively anenlarged side elevation and an end view of the polishing brush. Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively an enlarged sectional view and a transverse sectional of the -same brush taken on lines 3-3, Fig. 2, and 4 4, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the detached web-supporting hub of the brush, showing more particularly the slots for receiving the folded webs.

The brush as -4r, forming the princithan has heretofore been practised byA pal feature of my invention, comprises a tubular hub having one end provided with an annular siot -3-lconstituting a part of ay bayonet lock by which the hub may be detachably secured to a corresponding connection on the adjacent end of the revoluble section of the flexible shaft -3- by which rotary motion is transmitted from the motor to the hub.

rI "he opposite end of the hub, which supports the brush, may be of any desired` length and is provided with a series of radial slots -35- extending inwardly from said end for forming a corresponding series of Web-supporting arms -36- around which are folded a plurality of radial webs -37- of felt or other comparatively thick fieXible fabric, said webs being arranged in pairs, those of each. pair being folded intermediate their longitudinal edges around their corresponding arms 36 so that the opposite webs of each pairextend radially through the slots -35- a considerable distance beyond the periphery of the hub to alloY them to bend circumferentially under pressure upon the surface of a shoe as sas shown more clearly in Fig. fl. The outer edges of the wings are spaced apart a distance greater than half the radial width of the wings beyond the hub so as to allov said free edges to ybend ci rcumferentially to points approximately midway between the hub and outer edge of the next adjacent wing before contacting therewith.

A tubular sleeve -38- is inserted coaxially within the slotted end of the hub --33- and has its inner end closely fitted upon a central boss -39- which forms an integral part of the hub, said tubular sleeve being spaced apart from the inner surface of the adjacent portion of the hub a sufficient distance to receive the inner united ends of the webs of each pair and to form a bearing therefor to hold the webs against inward displacement and also against relative shifting movement on their respective a central apertured Aweb for receiving an axially extending clamping bolt -42- tapped in a central threaded socket in the boss -39- to lhold Vthe tubular sleeve -38- and hub in fixed relative position.

The webs 3?-- cxtend radially from the hub and are spacet equi-distant but some distance apart circumferentially so as to allow infinite degrees of bending action of each web relatively to the adjacent webs or, as shown more clearly in F ig. 4, it permits the free edges of the active webs to bend one toward the other to form intervening air cushions which tend to increase the resistance to the flexing action of the webs as the pressure upon the surface of the article to be polished increases and, at the same time, allows all portions of the web to flex at any point to conform ,to the varying contours of the shoe or other article to which the webs are applied through the polishing operation. The webs are preferably of uniform radial width but are elongated longitudinally and their free edges are preferably straight and parallel with the axis of the hub so as to more readily conform to and contact with the surface or surfaces of the article operated upon. lt is now evident that by making these webs of felt or similar highly fiexible but tenacious material and connecting the brush in the manner described to the end of a flexible shaft having a non-rotatable handle close to the brush, the edges and sides of the webs may be applied to the surface of the shoe or other article with ininitely small gradations of pressure as controlled by the operator, thereby permitting the operator to apply the lightest possible brushing 0r wiping pressure to the surface of the shoe for high finishing, polishin or the pressure may be gradually increase at the will of the operator with the assurance that the contact of the webs with the surface of the shoe or other article to be lpolished will produce* a smooth wiping e ect under the yielding pressure afforded by the air cushions in addition to the flexing action' of the webs per se.

I have found by actual experiment that the use of this'brush produces a hard and highly polished surface and enables the operator to perform his work expeditiously and without annoyance or irritation to the foot of the wearer of the shoe, thus permitting the polishing of a far greater number of shoes within a given period of time than has heretofore been possible..

One of the objects of making the webs of the brush of felt or equivalent material is to afford an absorbent support for any oleagilnous or pasty substance for direct application to the surface of the article which is being polished so that this substance may be applied to such surfaces simultaneously with the polish and, in some instances, l may prefer to apply to the webs a rouge, pumice miente stone or similar'paste having more or less abrasive properties. Another important advantage in the use of this type of polishing brush is that the rotary action of the webs under high speed produces a constant eentrifugal action of air which operates to quickly dry and, therefore, to rapidly harden the polished surface so that the highly hardened polished surface will throw off moisture more readily and, therefore, maintains a gloss for a longer period of time than is possible when polished in the usual manner. lt will also be observed that, in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the webs are slightly reinforced by quilting or stitching, preferably diagonally, but does not interfere materially with the free flexing action of such webs at all points, the only object ofthe cross-stitchingl being to prevent excessive fraying of the edges of the felt.

The air cushion previously referred to as tending to resist the flexing of the webs of the brush when rotating in contact with the shoe is produced by the centrifugal action -of the air which is thrown by centrifugal force against the overhanging portion of the wings, thereby bowing the intermediate portions of said wings which may ex toward the direction of rotation and in actual practice, it is observed that while the brush is being rotated at the high speed imparted to it by its motor, this centrifugal pressure of the air under the wings tends to resist the flexing of the free ends of the wings against the vsucceeding wings. rlFhat is, the air tends'to escape centrifugally from@ between the free edge of one iexed wing and the adjacent wing and this is what is meant by the air cushion, the centrifugal pressure of the air tending to escape between the free edge of one of the flexed active wings and the adjacent face of the next succeeding wing,

thereby producing what may be termed a wiping edect of the outgoing air across the surface of the shoe or other article which is: being polished.

The wiping effect of the wings of the brush and also that of the centrifu ally ac tuated air tending to escape at the 'ree edge of the flexed wings not only produces a high gloss within a very short period of time but incidentally dries the paste or' other liquid blacking which is emplo ed and tends to produce a harder finish t an is possible by the usual method or by the use of a bristle brush or any other brush in which the /wings areclose together.

lit will Ibe observed upon reference to the drawings that the wings of the brush are of considerably greater length than the radial width and that the outer free edea s of the wings are spaced apart centrifugally a (hstance at least equal to or greater than the radial width of the wings beyondthe. periphery of the hub, the object of which is to allow a greater volume of air to be operated upon centrifugally between the wings and to prevent contact of said wings except at their extreme outer edges, but, as previously stated, under the light pressure with which the brush is usually applied to the shoe, the

free edges of the wings scarcelyever touchl inner edges secured to the hub against movement relatively to their securing means, the

distance between the free outer edges of adjacent wings being greater than half the radial width of the wings so as to permit said free edge of each wing to bend freely to a point approximately midway the radial width of the next adjacent wing before contacting therewith when circumferential pressure is applied to said free edge as in the operation of polishing a shoe.

2. A shoe polishing brush having a hub outwardly between the and radially projecting flexible wings secured against movement at the hub, the said Wings being ofl reater length than their radial width an their outer free edges spaced apart circumferentially a distance greater than half the radial projection of Athe wings beyond the hub to prevent the vwings from lying latwise one against the other when applied to the surface to -be polished.

3. A brush comprising a hub, and radially-projecting at vwings of iexible material secured to the hub against relative movement therewith and spaced uniformly apart around `the hub, the wings having a width and being so spaced that when circumferential pressure is applied thereto to bend the wings the free edge of each wing engages .the adjacent wing and forms a pocket, the wings being free at all times from fiat-wise engagement with each other.

In witness *whereof I have hereunto set my hand this th dayD of January 1913.

JOSE H C. SANBORN.` Witnesses:

H. E'. CHASE, EVA E. GREENLEAF. 

